TEST GRAVEL BIKES

Our testers are journalist cyclists and this makes the difference in terms of seriousness, professionalism, ethical rules. Some of them participate in competitions, endurance races, endurance gravel tours, solo or team explorations.

The various product tests and athletic experience make our testers the ideal candidates to examine and evaluate the performance of these bicycles, in various situations.

Each tester rides the bikes as if they were their own during training, races or occasional trips with friends, all focusing on the downhill and uphill performance, versatility, weight and construction quality of each model.

Our testers ride the gravel bikes on descents of various lengths and road conditions, taking notes on the performance and reactions at high and low speeds, on the differences in altitude and on the surfaces of various nature and type.

From smooth dirt roads to rutted, mixed terrain trails, flowing singletrack, and more.

When riding, considering how the frame design, geometry, and components of the bike perform, all factor into the overall performance of each.

The very nature of gravel bikes makes them relatively versatile. Virtually any gravel bike can be used for commuting, road riding, singletrack, light duty, and touring (bikepacking).

Some bikes are lighter and more suited to racing than others, while others are more comfort-oriented and better for casual riding.

Wheels and tires typically come in two types, 700c or 650b. One or the other depends on the use from competitive sports to longer tours or day trips.

The weight of each bike is determined by weighing them on a special scale, obviously suspended and without pedals.

When possible, we ask manufacturers to assemble the bikes by customizing them specifically for the test we are going to perform.

The construction of the bikes, which we have tested, varies as much as their prices. In general, the quality of a Gravel is related to the price of the installed components and if they are more expensive we will have lighter and higher quality bikes.

Our testers have done their best to separate their perceptions on the construction quality of a bike even if particularly expensive or low-priced, to give opinions as neutral as possible.

The gravel bikes we test are probably fewer than those tested by other newspapers, but this is due to the fact that our tests are quite long, also due to the time to be spent, the external temperatures, the places to be used, and other things that make the difference when there are professionals in the work of an editorial team.